Legal mumbo jumbo: I own this story, but not any of the entities it contains. The world and characters belong to Square.

A/N: Howdy folks. Sorry this chapter is a bit wordy without much action going on, but it's completely necessary plot-wise. It gets the ball rolling and explains a lot of essential background things and basic plot that needs to get out of the way so the story can get moving. That's not to say this one isn't completely boring, though.

Previously: Matt was transported to the Final Fantasy VIII universe and arrived in Balamb, and it has been one year since the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia. He made it to Garden where he met Dr. Kadowaki and Headmaster Cid. He is due to meet the "orphanage gang", catch up with them, and consider any plans for his future at Garden.

Chapter 2: Plans for the Future

I woke up feeling absolutely wonderful. Sure I was nervous as heck about finally meeting the rest of the gang, and even the brief chat with Squall didn't really feel like I actually got to meet him and have a good conversation. Fortunately Dr. Kadowaki supplied me with a few sleeping pills, otherwise I would have been up all night tossing and turning, which would lead to me being completely spaced out and looking like shit on the very first day of my new life here in the universe of Final Fantasy VIII.

I sat there in bed for another minute or two, just stretching my arms and getting excited for the day to come. Then the doctor, with her impeccable timing, walked in the room carrying a tray of breakfast food.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully and smiled at her. "Thank you for the food!"

"Well you're certainly happy, mister."

"You betcha. I can't wait to get out of here!"

Kadowaki put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"I'm just kidding. Thanks for taking care of me, I really appreciate it. But I'm just happy to get out of this room and get some fresh air and meet some new people and see my new home."

"Well eat your breakfast first, and take it one step at a time. I'll go call Cid and tell him you'll be on your way. Oh by the way, you may want to change out of those hospital clothes and into some real clothing."

When I first got there, she gave me a hospital gown to change into and kept my clothes in a bag, and put that in a storage closet. The old clothing was my only memento of my home world, but I didn't want to be reminded yet. Maybe some time in the future I'll pull them out and reminisce. For now, I just need to assimilate into Garden and try to act like nothing happened.

She brought me a small pile of neatly folded clothing and set it down at the foot of the bed, smiled at me, then walked out. I inspected the clothing and was thankful it wasn't those blue and white SeeD trainee uniforms; those were just plain goofy. What I found, instead, was a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt, some socks, boxers, and some tennis shoes.

When leaving the infirmary, I felt just like Squall at the opening scene of the game where he walks down the path with Quistis and Garden is revealed. He was beginning his journey, and here I was beginning mine; what a fitting start. It was so strange walking down that path. I had walked that path many times before, but now it was real, and it all felt so new. It was summer so there weren't many people around, but I could still see a few here and there chatting, lying in the sun, or walking to various places. I looked up at the bright blue sky and let the sun warm my face. I smiled. Maybe this place won't be so bad after all? I began walking towards the front of Garden, the Directory to be more exact.

Garden was much bigger than it seemed in the game. The main office and elevator in the center loomed over the whole area, surrounded by fountains. Classrooms circled the entire area on the second floor, like a halo above the ground floor. As I rounded the large central structure, I could see the gang in the distance waiting for me. Suddenly it felt like a massive brick was dropped in my stomach. I felt so nervous, and I couldn't believe what was about to happen. Despite spending a few nights in Garden, it still took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that this wasn't just a videogame anymore.

I regained my composure and approached the group. Cid was standing next to the directory with his back to me, and the five young adults were standing in a row opposite him, chatting amongst themselves.

I wonder if they're as nervous as I am… Nah who am I kidding, these are SeeDs, they've seen it all. I just hope I don't come off as some bumbling idiot.

As I approached, I saw their heads perk up and Cid turned around. Nothing could have prepared me for this. I never got nervous when meeting new people or going new places, but this was completely different. I was terrified.

They all looked pretty much the same aside from some minor differences.

Quistis was almost my height, even with boots on, but I still had a few inches on her. She was wearing a light red skirt, a red top, but no gloves or sleeves like she usually did. Her hair was let down, but it was much shorter and only went down a little past her shoulders. She also had a pair of small glasses with thin, wire frames.

Next to her was Squall, wearing typical black leather pants, his trademark black coat with white fur, a couple red belts with shells for his gunblade, black gloves, and some boots that a biker might wear. He was my height, but it was hard to tell since he was leaning back against a short wall with his arms folded. His hair was a little bit longer and it covered most of his face.

The bouncy fellow next to him was none other than Zell Dincht. He was much shorter than I expected, standing at about 5'5", nearly half a foot shorter than me. His blonde hair was spiked up in the front, and his facial tattoo twitched when he smiled. He was wearing a black tank top, some blue denim shorts, and hi-top shoes. Since he didn't have a shirt covering his arms, I noticed a similar tattoo on his left shoulder; black barbs that snaked over his shoulder and onto his chest.

Selphie was standing next to Irvine. She was dressed in her typical one-piece (a blue one this time), brown boots, curled brown hair, and a big grin. Irvine was in his usual cowboy attire, a brown trench coat, some jeans with leather chaps, a vest, and a black hat. Seeing the two of them together was slightly amusing. She was barely over 5 feet tall, but he stood at an even 6. He gave a wink as he pointed his finger like a gun and pretended to shoot me.

As I finished my slow pan over the group, I came to Cid who was standing next to me.

"Ah yes, here he is," Cid said, snapping me out of my trance. "Kids, this young man here… err wait a sec. You're older than them aren't you?"

"Uhh.. Y-yeah. I am. Heh. But just by a year or two."

God, I probably sound like such an idiot. They're all probably laughing at me inside their heads.

"Yes, well anyways," Cid continued, "this is Matt. Now I've informed you of what little we've managed to figure out, but I think you all should find a nice place to sit down and chat. Introduce yourselves; tell him what's gone on in the past year, what's changed and what's still the same. Chat about whatever you like, what he plans to do here, what life was like in his world, anything you feel comfortable talking about. Please try your best to accommodate him and help him out whenever he needs it. This is very difficult for him, and we don't want anything that will lead to what happened to the other two. Alright?"

The group nodded in agreement. Cid then turned me and whispered in my ear, "Good luck!" then walked off.

There was silence for a few seconds, but it felt like hours. I finally decided to say something.

"Umm yeah, so I'm not usually this awkward. This is just fucking crazy what's happened to me these past few days. I'm still trying to regain my composure."

Zell stepped forward and cheerfully said, "Don't worry, man! We've got your back!"

Then Selphie chimed in, "Yeah we're here for ya! You'll have loads of fun here!"

Now it was Irvine's turn, "Like the shorties said, we've got your back. Don't want ya windin' up like those other poor souls."

Quistis joined in, "Yes. It would be a shame for that to happen at this Garden. We'll try our best to get you adapted," then she looked over at Squall since he hadn't said anything yet. "Right, Squall?"

He took the cue, "…Yeah. We'll get things all sorted out."

They all stared at me expectantly. I guess it was my turn to say something.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate that. I don't know what I would've done if I wound up anywhere else in this place, so I'm glad to be here at Balamb Garden, and I look forward to getting to know you all. So… how about we find that nice place to sit down and chat?"

Quistis nodded and said, "Right. How about we go to the quad? It's a nice day out and it'll be good to get some fresh air."

Selphie jumped up and cheered, "Woo-hoo! To the quad!" Then she grabbed Irvine's arm and ran ahead with him stumbling behind, using his other hand to keep his hat on.

Squall started walking ahead and Quistis took up his lead and I followed behind them. Suddenly I felt a slap on my back and turned to my left to see Zell flashing that big grin of his.

"Welcome to Garden, baby!"

I laughed, "Haha, thanks, man."

There was something odd I noticed about Zell. It wasn't anything tangible or external, though. I had some sort of gut feeling about him. I've had that feeling before when I met certain people, and it wasn't a bad feeling. It didn't feel like anxiousness or nervousness, just a feeling that made me think things would be alright and we'd get along well. I thought back to my previous life in my home world. When I first met one of my best friends I had very same feeling, like I somehow knew that one day we'd become good friends.

Who knows? Maybe Zell and I will become good friends. It does make sense. We're both martial artists, both like to have fun, we're loyal comrades. And he doesn't even know any of this about me, but I guess he'll find out soon enough.

A few minutes later our troupe arrived at the Quad. I was really amazed at how big and open it was. I remember when seeing it in the game, there wasn't much to look at. But being there in person was so much better. The path leading down was surrounded by trees with tables and benches on the sides; a couple people were lounging about, chatting, playing cards, studying. Then we came to an amphitheater of sorts; there was a center stage with a semi-circle of bleachers that went back 5 or 6 rows. Past that was an open area with more benches and some picnic tables. The wall on this area was low, so you could see across the plains and the ocean in the distance. I could only imagine the amazing view this place afforded if Garden were flying.

Selphie and Irvine had already found a table and were chatting with each other. Selphie, being the unending bundle of excitement she was, waved at us as we approached and motioned for us to sit down.

Yeah, as if we were planning to sit somewhere else.

As that thought passed through my head I looked over at Squall and saw that he was pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand. He must have been thinking the exact same thing.

Irvine was sitting at the end of one side with Selphie next to him, and I sat down next to her. Squall sat opposite Irvine, followed by Zell and then Quistis across from me.

Selphie started off the conversation by looking over at me and saying, "So Matt, are you excited to be here!? Isn't Garden great?"

"Yeah, I guess so. It's weird; it feels familiar in a sense, but it's totally different being here in person than playing it in a game."

Zell piped in, "Hey what was that like, seeing our world like it was a game?"

Irvine added, "Yeah man, that must've been pretty strange. Tell us about it!"

I proceeded to tell them about the game, giving a summary of all the events I saw from Squall's eyes. Starting with the SeeD qualifier in the Fire Cavern, the test in Dollet, and all the way to the final battle with Ultimecia. I explained to them that everything was in the third person, like they should imagine a camera in the sky watching over them, and that everything they said was printed as text on the screen that the player had to read. I told them that when it came to junctioning, we had menus to go through and could select GFs and magic from lists. Apparently for them, they did it all mentally with the help of their attached GF. I even added that I got to play Triple Triad and how fun (yet challenging, and sometimes frustrating) it was going around collecting all the cards. Even the battle system was a difficult concept to explain, how everyone had HP and certain attacks did a certain amount of damage, and that junctioned magic affected that as well.

After my explanation, I was worried how difficult it would be for me to get used to doing all that in person. Fortunately they reassured me and said that I was very knowledgeable and I should be fine. This brought our conversation along to the next part, and an important one at that.

"Have you considered training to become a SeeD? You could probably do it in just a single year," Quistis said.

Squall spoke up and told me, "You would be a valuable asset to our Garden. Even though it does sound strange, you were there along with us when we fought many battles and endured all that crap that happened not too long ago."

Selphie excitedly added, "Yeah you should totally become a SeeD! It'll be so fun! Me and Irvine have loads of fun traveling, seeing the world, meeting new people. Did Squall tell you, we're like Garden's ambassadors?"

"Yeah he did," I nodded, "That's really cool."

"Being a SeeD is the life," Irvine said. "Getting paid to see the world and fight alongside your comrades, there's nothing like it. You'll have an amazing time."

Should I really do it? Sure it'd be fun, but it's tough work, and I'd be taking on a lot of responsibility. How long will I be here anyway? Who knows…

Everyone was staring at me, waiting for my answer.

Quistis sounded a little worried, "Don't pressure him! Give him some time to think about it. He can't be expected to know right this instant."

"Nah it's ok," I quickly replied. "I mean, shit… what else am I going to do here, right? I don't wanna just sit around idly biding my time here. I'm sure it'll be fun, and you guys will soon realize that that's what I'm all about. I've got a new life here; I've got to make the most of it!"

Everyone at the table smiled and Zell looked especially pleased, "Alright, man! And since me and Quistis are instructors here, we'd be happy to help you out if you needed extra tutoring or something outside the classroom."

"Yeah that'd be great," I gratefully replied. "I'm sure some stuff I'll get right away, but other things I'm not so sure about."

Then Quistis smilingly said, "Yes we'd definitely help you out. By the way, do you have any fighting experience whatsoever? What will your weapon be? We'll teach you how to use magic and GFs, but you've still got to learn physical attacks."

"Well I know Zell is going to flip out because of this," I chuckled, "I'm a martial artist; been practicing for seven years, but lately I haven't kept up with it so I'm a little rusty."

Sure enough, Zell did get hyped up. He jumped out of his seat and started his shadow-boxing routine. "Oh hell yeah! See guys? Aren't martial artists so cool!?"

The rest of us at the table sighed and laughed a little.

But then I had something to add, "About the GFs and magic… I know you have to have a GF to use magic, but I really don't want to junction a GF, err at least not often. Yeah, I know it's necessary to become a SeeD here, but I'm concerned about the whole memory loss thing."

Irvine looked over at me and said, "Yeah I hear ya on that one."

I continued on, "It really hits home with me. I'm entering this whole new world and leaving my old life behind. I'd still like to keep those memories around. Especially since if I do go back one day, I won't be completely stupefied and be locked up somewhere because they all think I'm insane…"

Squall said, "Hmm that's a good point. I'm sure I can talk Cid into cutting you some slack and making sure you have to junction as little as possible. You could probably get away with having just one guardian junctioned, just so you can use magic and some abilities. We're not entirely sure on how the memory loss thing works, but we think it's because the GF takes up space in your head, so you have to lose whatever was there before."

Quistis added on, "If you junctioned just one GF but summoned it rarely or not even at all, that space that's being taken up wouldn't increase and you'd have very minimal memory loss. In fact, it'd probably be just like it is as you get older, certain things from the far past are going to be lost anyway."

"Ok," I said, "That sounds fine. I can live with junctioning every once in a while, and it'd only be one GF anyway."

After the discussion on GFs, we talked about my living conditions, and what classes I would take; the logistical stuff. Since it was the summer and Garden wasn't very full, anyone who stayed over the summer lived in a single room in the main dorm. Once the school year started, the young cadets packed into the regular dorms while the older SeeDs moved into the suites. Even though I wasn't a SeeD yet, I was older and sort of like a transfer student, so I'd move into a suite with a roommate. Each suite consisted of two bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and a main room with a small kitchen area, a dining table, and a living area with a couch, table, radio, and television. The way they described it to me, it sounded really nice; I didn't know Garden could afford such great accommodations, but it had been a year later and I'm sure SeeDs had become much more popular after saving the world from a sorceress threatening to destroy it.

I was a little concerned about who my roommate would be, though. Cid told me that no one aside from the orphanage group would know where I was really from and what my situation was, so it'd be awkward with a random roommate. We eventually decided that Zell would be my future roommate. That sounded good to me. I did like him and from what I could tell, we got along fine. And since we were both martial artists and he offered to help me out in my quest to become a SeeD, he'd make a great workout and sparring partner.

When it came to classes, I was told to take some basic placement exams to see where I stood in terms of basic things like math, science, and language; I'd take those tests later in the week. I figured they would be easy enough, especially since I was already halfway through college in my old world and these SeeDs cadets were like kids from high school. However, I would need to take a course on history, another on politics, and the basic things like magic, GFs, as well as courses on combat and SeeD policy and protocol.

With all these classes and living arrangements at Garden, money would definitely be an issue for me. I had no money of my own that existed in this world, and no family supporting me either. Squall said he would talk to Cid and they could work out some sort of loan for me. I would be able to enroll in Garden, and even get a monthly allowance so I could go out and do fun stuff with the rest of the students. Once I graduated and became a SeeD, part of my pay would go towards repaying the loan, something I had no problem with at all. I was impressed and grateful for how helpful and giving they were. I couldn't ask for more. In addition, they'd start off by giving me some money to go into town and get some supplies like toiletries, new clothes, and anything else I could find, so long as the bill remained low.

After a few hours of chatting and discussing plans, it was lunch time and we decided to take a break and head for the cafeteria. On our way there, we ran into Seifer in the hallway. I was very surprised to see him; I had never considered what had become of him after the battle with Ultimecia. Apparently he was accepted back into Garden and was allowed to continue his studies. Though some objected to this, most understood that he was under her control throughout his reign as the Sorceress' Knight, and he really couldn't help it. Also, he made a good leader of the Disciplinary Committee. It had been briefly disbanded when he, Fujin, and Raijin left Garden, and things around the place did seem to get a little hectic at times when it came to the younger cadets. Fujin and Raijin didn't come back to Garden like Seifer did, however; instead, they moved away from the SeeD lifestyle and wanted to start new lives in Deling City.

When I heard all this, I felt bad for Seifer. I had always thought of him as someone who was misunderstood and no one really gave him a chance. I felt especially bad since he must feel so lonely at Garden; his posse had left him, he was forced to fight against his former friends, he was notorious as the Knight assisting in world domination. He was an unfortunate soul that was dealt a shitty hand in life.

Our group approached him and he had a devilish smirk on his face. He was dressed in his typical combination of a gray trench coat, blue vest, and black pants, and his blonde hair was slicked-back as usual.

"Well if it isn't the lovely orphanage gang! Ooh and chicken-wuss is tagging along as usual," Seifer said.

By now everyone was used to his antics and knew that he didn't mean to harm or tease them, it was just who he was. Zell, on the other hand, still didn't take Seifer's insults lying down.

"Seriously, Seifer, stop calling me that. It's so old!"

"Well then you should be used to it, right? I have been calling you that all your life."

I started laughing and everyone turned around to face me. "You guys are still doing this crap? You guys are like a couple of kid brothers!"

I was merely joking around, but Seifer must not have taken it that way. He glared at me and then said, "Well look what we've got here! The gang picked up a fucking comedian!"

Squall stepped in. "Seifer, relax. He's new here and he didn't mean to offend you, right?" he said as he turned his head and looked back at me.

I smiled at Seifer and sincerely replied, "Yeah, man. I just thought you and Zell were funny. No need to get all pissed off."

Squall then turned to the rest of the group, "You guys go on, I'll tell Seifer about Matt's situation. It's best we fill him in, too."

Zell said bitterly, while staring at Seifer, "Yeah come on, let's get out of here. I don't have time to screw around with this idiot." Then his face lit up, "Oh I hope they have extra hot dogs today!" and he ran off.

Irvine sighed and said, "Well that's Zell for ya. Alright c'mon, let's go. See ya later, Seifer."

We all made our way to the cafeteria and Squall stayed behind to chat with Seifer. I felt a little worried after that encounter with him. I really didn't mean to offend him, and I just wanted to show that I wasn't like the orphanage gang he was never exactly a part of. I had never thought of it before, but I did realize that he and I were quite similar and I would probably have a better chance befriending him than the others. We were both older than everyone else, we never really fit in with the core group, neither of us were SeeDs yet, and I, too, at times felt like being a bit rebellious and not wanting to go with the crowd.

I definitely looked forward to getting to know Seifer, but first came lunch. We grabbed some trays, picked out some food and found a big table near the back. Our conversation was filled with nothing but chit-chat. What was my life like back home? What did I do? What were my interests and hobbies? They also talked about themselves and asked me about things I knew or didn't know about them personally.

Selphie and Irvine were making plans for me for the rest of the week. They made an effort to get to know me since they wouldn't be around much later on, and wanted to spend some time with me before they had to go back to traveling and hanging out at the other gardens. Plus they felt obliged since Zell and Quistis would be busy with instructor training and Squall was never around much because of his duties as Commander.

After lunch, Squall went back to the office to get back to his work and the rest of the gang showed me around Garden. The tiring day concluded with setting up my dorm room, which was where I'd be staying for the next two weeks before school was in session.

That night, I laid in bed thinking to myself.

Ahh, what a wonderful day. I'm loving Garden already. The people here are great, the place is nice. I think I'm going to have lots of fun.

When I first arrived a few days earlier I was nervous and a little scared, but now I felt much better. No wonder those other outsiders couldn't make it very long, they didn't wind up in the right place at the right time. I was lucky to end up in Balamb and be able to meet the stars of the game-turned-reality. They were so helpful and compassionate; I was looking forward to my new life and was actually starting to get over missing my old one.